Cougars win streak reaches new heights

The Vankleek Hill Cougars held on to their new year's winning streak this weekend with impressive wins against the league's two Quebec-based teams.

Vankleek Hill started the weekend in Gatineau on Friday, January 20 against the fifth-place Express, which currently sits a mere three points ahead of the seventh-place Cougars.

Cougars head coach Marc Berniqué said he was slightly concerned about both teams' lack of emotion for most of the game.

"I thought we started the game well and we were able to take an early lead," he said. "But Gatineau was playing a trap game and trying to slow the tempo of the game and we seemed to play into their game plan."

The Cougars took a 4-1 lead into the third period with single goals coming from Marc-André Nantais, Christopher McPeak and two goals from former captain Yannick Boudrias.

"We had a good lead going into the final 20 minutes, but our guys appeared to slow down which allowed Gatineau to get back into the game," noted Berniqué, who felt the need to call a third-period timeout after the Express brought the score to 4-3.

"The timeout seemed to settle the guys down and wake them up somewhat," he added.

It might have worked: Vankleek Hill came back on the ice with enough time for Nantais to score his second goal of the game - an empty-netter - after Gatineau decided to pull its goaltender in the dying moments of the game.

"We may have won, but we did not play our best game," admitted Berniqué. "We tweaked some line combinations during the game and our line of McPeak, Nantais and [Nicolas] Pharand played a very solid game.

"Overall our guys played a good game in our defensive zone except for a few breakdowns in the third period, which means we will have to continue to work on this aspect of our game."

The head coach would sing a different tune following the Cougars' next game, as they returned home to welcome the Papineauville Vikings to town.

"I continue to tell them they need to stop playing not to lose and play to win, and it appears to have given them some confidence in their abilities," Berniqué said following the game.

Vankleek Hill controlled the play most of the first period and took an early lead when Karl Walcott found the back of the Vikings net with 10:57 left in the opening frame. The lone assist on the goal went to McPeak.

The team increased its lead less than one minute into the second period when Nantais was able to beat the Vikings goaltender, with help from McPeak and Jocelyn Lamarche. And the Cougars would add yet another goal before the midway point of the middle frame when Walcott was left alone in front of the Vikings net and notched his second goal of the game.

Vankleek Hill goaltender Sébastien Faubert, who was acquired by the Cougars in a trade with the Vikings earlier in the season, was maintaining a perfect game until he was beaten with 2:28 remaining in the second period.

Early in the third period the Cougars then failed to capitalize on a two-man advantage for 1:36, despite strong play from newly-acquired defenseman Devin Baxter, formerly of the Alexandria Glens.

"This was Baxter's first game with us," said Berniqué. "I really liked his puck moving skills. He is a very mobile defenseman and I think he will help us defensively as he moves the puck well.  We also put him on the power play where he should be an asset as well. I think he should fit in very nicely with the team."

The Vikings cut the lead to a single goal with 13:29 remaining in the game on a cross-crease pass which was tapped in past Legault. But Vankleek Hill regained its two-goal lead after Walcott single-handedly undressed the entire Vikings defense and completed his hat trick with an incredible unassisted breakaway goal with 6:09 left in the frame.

"I thought we took control of the game," stated Berniqué. "We out shot them, out played them, and spent most of the game in their zone."

The Cougars would add one more goal before the final horn sounded as Yannick Boudrias split through the Vikings defense and fired a shot over the goaltenders shoulder, handing his team an insurmountable three-goal lead. With this win, the Cougars remain unbeaten in 2012 and the team is currently riding a four-game winning streak.

"The atmosphere around the team is very positive right now and all players appear to be on the same page," said the coach. "There is also very good chemistry in the room. The guys appear to be getting together and no player puts himself above the team.

"I really like what I have seen from all the players, from our captain down the line. They appear to be focused before every game and prepared to execute the game plan."

Berniqué and his coaching staff hope the players can stay focused and play with the same level of intensity as they welcome the league's top two teams to Vankleek Hill this weekend.

The second-place Cumberland Bandits will visit on Saturday, January 28 and the league-leading Embrun Panthers will come to town on a rare Sunday night home game for the Cougars. Both games get underway at 7:30 p.m.